Davo met Mac the Huzzahnian Chicken, and we all had a photo op. We look fab!

Miss Wyatt showered us with gifts! Aussie stamps, books on Tasmania and about “Tassie Devils”, which Mac enjoyed immensely.

Mac learns about Davo

And–what’s this? a tube of Vegemite. It’s a popular spread for toast. Popular in Australia, that is.

Vegemite is this big.

We got out the crackers, did a little spreading, and sniffing, and some of us had a taste. Then we did some writing.

“The container looks like a small yellow tube of toothpaste. I thought the paste would look like garlic spread, white with specks of green in it. But to my surprise, it looked like chocolate.” –Chelsey

“When I got my Vegemite, it blobbed out of the tube onto my cracker. I had expected it to be humus colored, but it turned out to be a dark, blackish brown goop, sort of like melted chocolate. Before I ate it, I thought that it might have a peanut butter-like texture. I thought that it would taste like peas, cucumber and asparagus mixed in a blender. I was wrong!” –Jared

“Vegemite is a good source of Vitamin B and Folate and is made from fermented yeast, a component found in bread. Funnily enough, Vegemite is usually served on bread. Yeast is grown on barley, by the way. Want some more big words? Vegamite includes Niacin, Thiamine and Riboflavin, three minerals/vitamins that are good for you (maybe…).” –Griffin

Spreading gets an audience

Some positive reviews and enthusiasm:

“I thought Vegemite would be yellow and like peanut butter, and I thought it would be very yummy. Well, I was right that it’s yummy. But it is nothing like peanut butter–it’s dark black like chocolate. I thought it was super yummy, delicious, but most of the other kids thought it was very different.” –Kyle

Thumbs up!

Silly thumbs up!

Some dubious faces:

Want mine?

Some were, well, not fans of Vegemite.

No thank you.

More reviews:

“Vegemite, a gift from the devil. The outside looks like a fattened bottle of tooth paste colored bumble bee yellow, with Vegemite printed big and bold on the front. But don’t be fooled by the outside, it’s the inside that’s the horror.” –Colton

Yuck.

“Apparently it’s been made since 1923 by Kraft foods (sorry Kraft! I like your dinner!) so it must be an acquired taste. However it is not a taste I wish to acquire! This was an off-putting experience, an experience that I wouldn’t do again.” –Colt

“I can tell that I had my salty face on and my sour face on. I could just feel myself starting to swallow and as I did slowly my face was turning up side down and my taste buds stood up right away. Then I knew I didn’t like it. I was in shock! –Julia

“It squelches out of the tube with the consistency of a slug and smells like manure mixed with a dash of burning rubber. According to hapless victims of Vegemite it is very salty. When the Vegemite was placed on my cracker I froze, the blood drained from my face and I shoved my bile back down my throat but only succeeded in making my throat burn. I would rather eat mulched toads than Vegemite. It looks like the offspring of a failed science experiment on the cracker, *sigh*.” –Max

We did have fun with experiment, and as you can tell it let led to some great writing. Have you ever tasted anything from another country that was new to you? What was it like? What do Canadians eat that is unique to our country? And if you are an international guest, what food is part of your national identity?

Blogging is one way of connecting with people–Skype is another!

Through the student blogging competition we’ve connected with Miss Wyatt in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Many of us have read and commented on her grade 6/7 class blogs. On Thursday at 2 pm our time we will meet up via Skype for a face-to-face chat. It will be 9 am Friday for them.

We know we have a lot in common, but we also know that there is a lot that we think we know, but we don’t know, you know?

So to prepare for our conversation, please think about…

what we should know ahead of time about Australia and Tasmania so we don’t sound foolish

what questions we can ask to learn more about life in their community

blogging questions for these experienced bloggers and their teacher

what we can show that would give a good picture about who we are and how we live

anything else we should do or say that would help us understand each other better

Share your thoughts in a comment below!

And if you want to read more by Miss Wyatt’s students, go to her sidebar and look for them under 2008 Students.